I would just like to say that everything cannot be a backhaul. Everyone wants backhaul rates but for alot of us guys that strictly haul farm equipment and ag stuff everything cannot be a back haul. Also, consider the price of running a diesel truck and trailer before you tell someone he's way to expensive. Maybe you should not have bought a $6500 dollar tractor 3000 miles from home and expect to get it hauled for a $.40 per mile. Geez, ya'll yankees think a little bit.

Years back i went to a sale with truck and trailer just knowing that i would end up with the prize of the day , when in fact the only thing i bought was a over priced hotdog and pepsi . I was about to leave when the auctioneer came up to me and asked me if i would haul the one big tractor for the guy .and if i would talk with him . Well this idiot comes up and he asked HOW MUCH and i told him a 1.75 per LOADED mile Total miles of the haul by HIS guessta mate was 215 miles and he came unglued on me telling me that he would pay FIFTY bucks . He stomped off and went whinning to the auctioneer about me tryen to rip him off . So the auctioneer comes over and gets in my face about it and asked what i told him and i told him the same thing 1.75 a loaded mile , my how fast he started to back pedal and told me that my price WAS NOT unreasonable . This idiot comes back over and offers me 75 buck . Told him flat out NO . He tells me that he could DRIVE it home for less, Told him go for it and he better pack a lunch as it was going to be a lot longer ride over the back roads then the interstate. And i left . Sure hoped he enjoyed the ride . My ride home Empty was not to bad and did not take as long.

I hear you, and have seen the same thing back when I used to haul.
Had a well respected distributor in my hometown that heard I made trip out west. He wanted me to haul some stuff for him. I said sure as I was usually empty going out.
He called again and asked when my next trip was He said he would give me a key, just come in and load it up.
As we ended the conversation, I told him we had never discussed price. He about crawled down my throat. He said, "you have the nerve to charge me for hauling this stuff when you are going out there anyway? It does not weigh that much, how about $50 for fuel?"
Now here is the real problem, few people believe that he is a crook because he has a "good name" in town.
I hope he got his goods move 1,500 miles for $50. I would not haul helium that cheap, and I don't think it weights very much either.
I just let it go. But never judge a book by it's reputation. LOL

i hear ya a lot of people dont realize this aint the '7o's anymore, it takes big money to operate a big truck, and we just cant run them at our own expence even a backhaul has to at least break even, trucks cant run for a buck a mile anymore, like ya said if the guy cant afford to have it hauled, maybe he shouldnt have bought it, or he better plan to drive it home under its own power

I am not a professional hauler, most likely to be on the other side of it (needing things hauled long distance). I understand that it can get pretty frustrating having to hear from those folks that all of you describe over and over and over and over. How about looking at it this way: How many quotes do you give and how many actually turn into a job? Lawyers, roofers, car salesmen, all have far more "contacts" vs. actual sales. Let them rant and rave! I know of a individual haler that prepared a quote sheet where he writes in the current haul price, but also has a Q&A section where he breaks down in general terms his monthly expenses. Rig, repair, maintenance, insurance, fuel, fees, etc. Rather than only verbally giving the quote, he just hands them the sheet.
On another note: From my own experience, it is hard to get someone to haul locally (under 100mi.), even with standard allowances for loading/unloading. Therefore, I ended up buying a GN to do it myself. However, on longer hauls, I do expect a small discount over the "right now", designated haul if time is not an issue (within 30 days, for example) and/or known partial load.
Just my 5 and a half cents worth. Ralph in Oklahoma.

I guess when your in a business you hope to make as much as you can at what you do. I do the same. On the other hand, if your in a business and you can maximize your profit by doing a few smaller things on the side to help your bottom line, you probably would also do it. I suspect that is why some truckers will do backhauls so cheap. They can sit around waiting for that maximum load or take on some smaller pieces and make the trip. I have been able to get tractors hauled for .50 mile all the time with the trucking company I use. They book all over the US and sometimes I hit it lucky and they have a truck just waiting to get loaded. Personally I wouldn't and couldn't haul for that cheap but it must work for them because they do it all the time for me.

(quoted from post at 08:59:35 04/28/12) I guess when your in a business you hope to make as much as you can at what you do. I do the same. On the other hand, if your in a business and you can maximize your profit by doing a few smaller things on the side to help your bottom line, you probably would also do it. I suspect that is why some truckers will do backhauls so cheap. They can sit around waiting for that maximum load or take on some smaller pieces and make the trip. I have been able to get tractors hauled for .50 mile all the time with the trucking company I use. They book all over the US and sometimes I hit it lucky and they have a truck just waiting to get loaded. Personally I wouldn't and couldn't haul for that cheap but it must work for them because they do it all the time for me.

They are NOT doing it that cheap. The 50 cents per mile is only what YOU paid. The real money comes from the rest of the load. In fact, that 50 cents per mile you paid might have been over and above what was actually needed to be profitable for the trucking company. It was the "gravy".

I agree. They aren't loading my 1020 JD up and hauling it 1400
miles for just $700. They usually have other drops on the way but
in the end I don't care about that, I only am concerned about what
it costs me. I did have 6 tractors on one load out of LA brought
back for $1000 total one time. A little over 1100 miles to home and
the driver was there 3 hours after I called the trucking company.

(quoted from post at 20:21:52 04/28/12) I agree. They aren't loading my 1020 JD up and hauling it 1400
miles for just $700. They usually have other drops on the way but
in the end I don't care about that, I only am concerned about what
it costs me. I did have 6 tractors on one load out of LA brought
back for $1000 total one time. A little over 1100 miles to home and
the driver was there 3 hours after I called the trucking company.

1986 was the last year for me driving coast to coast. At that time, the truck got paid just $1.00 per loaded mile, and out of that $1.00, I got paid 20 cents per mile to drive it.

Driver for that load had 2 options. Sit and wait for something to
come along that paid full price or take a load that paid his way
home. I suspect he wanted to get back home so he took the load
right away. It wasn't that I only offered him that much, it is what he
wanted for the load so it worked out for both of us. He might have
made his profit for the return trip on his original load there and this
could have still been gravy for him also. I didn't ask and he didn't
tell.

well if a trucker/truck works it right or has the right people in the office a truck can make good/great money haul'n ltl's. the trouble I see is some (not all) trucks want to make it all on one peice of equip. Now I'm talk'n on big otr trucks not jockeys runnig a 30' gn going sale to sale.

I have several tractors hauled by mostly the same people.Most of the time there are four tractors and they map their load to make it cost efficient.I have a nephew that has 3 nice trucks with drivers.The drivers make around $1200 per week and after his expenses the trucks net $250 each plus all the headaches.To me thats not much considering the investment so even though I have the equipment I have it done by professionals

1 NH 268 baler, 1 NH 477 haybine, 15 wheel rake. $1200 280 miles. no fuss no mess no worry about breaking down/flats no talking to State Patrol, no 3 trips. priceless Just glad I got a good price on the equipment and don't have to do this much.

Exactly. When someone gets something hauled for $.50, it sure isn't the only thing on the trailer. If you have a half dozen pieces on the trailer at $.50 a mile a piece, that's $3 a mile to the truck. Two of those could be heavier, so they might be getting $.75 for those, which would be $3.50 a mile to the truck. If you have a creative driver, 6 pieces is an easy fit.

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